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Ontoersitp  of  H3ort&  Carolina 


Collection  of  ji2ort&  Catolinfana 
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tssv 


Form  No.   471 


AN  EPIPHANY  PASTORAL 

TO 

THE  CLERGY  AND  LAITY 

OF 

THE  MISSIONARY  DISTRICT 

OF 
ASHEVILLE.  N.  C. 


BISHOP   HORNER 


Brethren  of  the  Clergy  and  Laity   of   the  District  of 
Asheville : — 

More  than  ordinary  responsibility  is  placed  upon  us 
by  the  extraordinary  conditions  of  the  world  at  this  time. 
The  ecclesiastical  affairs  of  nations  are  in  turmoil  as  well 
as  the  political.  We  are  so  closely  bound  together  eco- 
nomically, socially  and  religiously  that  one  nation  cannot 
suffer  greatly  without  disturbing  somewhat  the  equilib- 
rium of  all  others.  If  the  suffering  be  very  great,  the 
corresponding  disturbance  elsewhere  is  great. 

The  interdependence  of  the  nations  upon  one  another 
as  to  their  social  and  economic  equilibrium  makes  the 
persent  disturbed  condition  of  the  world  a  wonderful  op- 
portunity for  the  religious  forces  of  each  nation  to  put 
into  operation  influences  that  will  be  world-wide  in  their 
effect,  and  everlasting. 

To  make  this  influence  felt  intensely  everywhere,  each 
subject  of  the  World  King  must  work  efficiently  in  every 
little  corner,  wherever  the  name  of  the  World  King  is 
honored  above  all  other  names. 

Every  layman  must  be  prepared  in  heart  and  mind  to 
do  his  part.  Individual  efficiency  combined  in  corporate 
strength  will  ultimately  gain  the  victory. 

We  are  prone  to  depend  too  much  upon  efficient  lead- 
ership. We  need  this  leadership,  of  course,  but  we  also 
need  efficient  rank  and  file. 

The  able  and  consecrated  clergymen  can  do  compara- 

[3] 


tively  little,  unless  he  is  backed  by  the  co-operation  of  his 
people,  and  the  people  will  not  co-operate  until  they  have 
been  instructed  and  trained. 

In  our  Church  life,  we  have  ignored  too  much  and  too 
long  the  priesthood  of  the  laity.  We  must  put  the  people 
to  work.  They  must  be  instructed  in  the  Bible  and  in 
the  history  of  the  Church.  They  must  be  properly 
equipped  to  go  out  and  take  hold  of  the  great  body  of  the 
indifferent  who  care  not  for  holy  things.  There  is  a 
Church  work  to  be  done  by  the  layman  which  no  clergy- 
man can  do. 

I  beg,  then,  of  my  Clergy  to  offer  the  people  under 
their  charge,  the  opportunity  to  learn  how  to  work. 

Form  Bible  classes  and  Church  History  classes.  Many 
men  are  willing  to  work  for  Christ  and  His  Church,  if 
they  only  knew  how  and  where.  In  this  way  each  clergy- 
man might  put  two,  five  or  ten  men  at  work  and  so  mul- 
tiply his  own  efficiency  many  times,  it  may  be,  in  reaching 
out  to,  and  gathering  in,  the  multitudes  who  know  not 
Christ  and  care  not  for  His  Church — and  I  beg  of  my 
brethren  of  the  laity  to  offer  themselves  gladly  to  co- 
operate with  the  clergy  in  this  time  of  the  world's  great 
need. 

We  may  be  far  away  in  the  mountains,  but,  perhaps, 
we  might  be  surprised  to  find  how  quickly  some  things 
said  and  done  in  some  far  away  mountain  cove  are  known 
in  the  great  cities  and  affect  directly  or  indirectly  the 
Church  life  of  "them  that  are  far  off  and  of  them  that 
are  nigh."    We  do  not  live  to  ourselves,  we  are  members 

[4] 


of  the  Church  of  God,  which  has  no  limitations  in  time 
or  in  space.  We  are  living  in  an  age,  the  most  strenuous 
the  world  has  ever  known.  To  accomplish  great  things, 
it  is  often  times  necessary  to  deal  with  and  use  little 
things.  The  man,  who  neglects  the  little  things,  never  has 
the  opportunity  to  touch  the  big  things  of  life. 

In  the  Eternity  of  God,  Life  and  Death  are  not  far 
apart;  we  may  estimate  life  as  small,  and  death  as  great; 
or  we  may  consider  death  as  small  and  life  as  great. 
Which  shall  it  be  ?  For  the  Christian  man,  death  is  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  victory  of  life. 

Often  times  the  little  things  are  so  magnified  that  the 
really  big  things  are  hidden.  In  contemplating  the  unseen 
things  of  God,  this  occurs  oftener  than  we  might  imagine. 

The  history  of  the  Church  shows  how  often  men  have 
allowed  comparatively  little  things  to  cause  disturbances 
tremendous  in  their  evil  tendencies  and  results.  A  perti- 
nent instance  is  upon  us  at  this  very  time  in  the  disturb- 
ance caused  by  the  proposed  conference  at  Panama.  In 
itself  it  might  have  been  an  indifferent  affair,  but  because 
of  the  imagination  of  some  as  to  what  might  be  done  or 
might  be  thought  by  some  one  else,  it  is  causing  much 
trouble. 

I  have  written  this  much  as  a  kind  of  introduction  to 
what  I  wish  to  say  about  some  things  that  are  looked 
upon  with  indifference  in  certain  quarters  because  they 
touch  in  those  places  comparatively  few  people. 

In  our  District,  however,  certain  objectionable  teach- 
ings have  assumed  such  proportions  as  to  cause  some  of 

[5] 


our  Church  people  distress,  and  alarm,  and  they  wish  an 
expression  of  opinion  and  advice  from  their  Bishop. 

MEANING  OF  WORDS. 
Many  words  in  every  language  from  age  to  age  change 
in  their  meaning  and  content.  Two  words  pertaining  to 
ecclesiastical  affairs,  have  undergone  a  violent  change  in 
meaning  and  content, — the  word  Catholic,  and  the  word 
Protestant. 

These  words,  as  used  now  by  perhaps  nine-tenths  of 
the  people,  have  not  the  same  meaning  they  originally  and 
etymologically  had. 

I. 

Original,  etymological  meaning  of  the  words: 
Catholic — Universal,     comprehensive,     general.       The 
Catholic  Church=the  Church  for  all  peoples 
of  all  nations. 

Catholic  doctrines  and  practices  are  the  doc- 
trines and  practices  of  the  Bible  as  taught  by 
the  Apostles  and  their  immediate  successors. 

Protestant — (From  two  Latin  words,  pro — testis),  wit- 
ness for. 

The  Protestant  Church=the  Church  wit- 
nessing for  the  truth  of  the  Catholic  faith 
against  the  errors  and  corruptions  of  the 
Church  of  the  mediaeval  period. 


[6] 


II. 

Present  meaning  of  the  words, 
(as  used  by  the  great  majority  of  the  people  of  the  U.  S.) : 
Catholic — Roman.     The  Catholic  Church=the  Roman 

Catholic  Church. 
Protestant  —  Anti-Roman.     A  Protestant  Church  =  a 
Church   opposed   to   the   Roman   Catholic 
Church. 

There  seems  to  be  an  almost  hopeless  confusion  in  the 
use  of  these  words  by  certain  extreme  partisans  in  the 
Church.  The  so-called  extreme  Catholic  party  use  the 
word  Catholic  as  applied  to  themselves  in  its  original 
meaning,  and  the  word  Protestant  as  applied  to  others  in 
its  second — present  day — meaning. 

The  so-called  extreme  Protestant  party  use  the  word 
Protestant  as  applied  to  themselves  in  its  original,  etymo- 
logical meaning,  and  the  word  Catholic  as  applied  to 
others  in  its  second — present  day — meaning. 

This  confusion  as  to  the  meaning  of  words,  has  caused 
much  misunderstanding  and  hard  feelings  on  the  part  of 
those  who  are  full  of  partisanship  in  their  thoughts  and 
feelings,  but  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  great  majority 
of  the  membership  of  the  Episcopal  Church  will  not  iden- 
tify themselves  with  either  of  these  extreme  parties,  and 
this  position  is  taken  because  neither  of  ignorance  nor  of 
timidity. 

We  should  all  be  both  Protestant  and  Catholic  if  these 
words  are  used  with  their  original  significance,  and  we 
should  be  neither,  if  the  words  are  used  with  their  second 
derived  significance. 

[7] 


AUTHORITY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

There  is,  however,  a  more  serious  tendency  than  this 
contention  over  the  meaning  and  use  of  words.  There 
is  a  feeling  on  the  part  of  some  that  the  Protestant  Episco- 
pal Church  has  comparatively  little  authority  as  to  the 
doctrines  and  practices  of  her  members,  and  none  at  all 
when  in  conflict  with  the  teaching  and  practice  of  the 
Church  of  the  past  twelve  or  thirteen  centuries. 

Since  the  Ecumenical  Councils,  held  before  the  divis- 
ion between  the  Church  of  the  East  and  the  Church  of 
the  West,  there  has  been  no  council  of  the  whole  Church, 
but  only  National  and  Provincial  councils.  No  National 
or  Provincial  Council  has  authority  except  over  the  people 
within  the  nation  or  province. 

The  General  Convention  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  is  a  body  of  as  great  dignity,  learning  and  author- 
ity as  any  council  held  in  any  country  at  any  time  since 
the  Ecumenical  Councils  of  the  first  centuries.  It  is  the 
only  conucil  that  has  any  authority  to  legislate  on  certain 
matters  for  the  people  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America. 

A  National  Council  legislates  as  to  doctrine  and  prac- 
tice, by  Canon-Law,  by  Liturgy,  by  Offices  of  devotion, 
authorized  for  use  by  the  people. 

A  Church  Council  of  one  nation  has  no  authority  what- 
ever to  legislate  for  the  Church  people  of  another  nation 
and  of  another  time. 

The  individual  has  no  authority  whatever  in  contra- 
vention of  the  Council  to  which  he  owes  allegiance. 

[81 


Individuals  of  every  age  may  be  cited,  perhaps,  to 
prove  most  any  doctrine,  if  individual  testimony  were  suf- 
ficient to  establish  the  truth  of  the  doctrine. 

The  source  of  authority  for  any  doctrine  or  practice, 
if  traced  only  to  the  decrees  of  some  National  Council,  is 
worthless  as  far  as  the  people  of  another  nation  and  an- 
other age  are  concerned.  These  are  important  and  ac- 
cepted principles  in  the  determination  of  ecclesiastical 
matters.  The  General  Convention  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  has  as  much  right  and  authority  to  put  forth 
a  manual  of  devotion  in  her  Prayer  Book,  outlining  doc- 
trines and  practices,  as  any  Council  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, or  of  France,  or  of  Rome,  and  this  convention  is  the 
only  one  that  has  any  authority  as  to  such  matters  for  the 
members  of  the  Church  in  this  country. 
MEDIAEVAL  CHURCH. 

During  the  Middle  Ages,  after  the  first  few  centuries 
when  the  Church  was  undivided,  the  Roman  Church  grew 
enormously  in  influence  and  power.  It  was  during  this 
period  that  certain  doctrines  and  practices  gained  a  dom- 
inating influence  that  became,  because  of  their  baneful 
results,  intolerable  to  a  great  body  of  the  people  in  Eng- 
land and  in  Europe.  The  opposition  to  these  doctrines 
and  practices  culminated  in  the  Reformation  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  three  of 
these  doctrines  and  practices  that  were  specially  objection- 
able : 

I.    Auricular  Confession  and  Penance. 
II.    Perpetual  Reservation  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment. 

[9] 


III.  Invocation  of  Saints. 
These  doctrines  and  practices  (the  practice  and  doc- 
trine always  go  together),  can  be  traced  back  to  no  ecu- 
menical council ;  and  no  national  or  provincial  council,  to 
which  they  may  be  traced,  has  any  authority,  whatever, 
for  the  Church  people  of  this  country.  Citations  may  be 
made  from  certain  holy  and  good  men  of  the  early  Church 
in  support  of  these  things,  but  individuals  are  not  compe- 
tent as  authority  in  such  matters.  The  Bible,  the  Creeds, 
and  the  Liturgies  authorized  by  the  Church  of  the  Apos- 
tolic age  and  of  the  centuries  immediately  following,  alone 
can  be  cited  to  justify  the  claim  for  doctrine  and  practice 
as  truly  Catholic. 

AURICULAR  CONFESSION. 

Private  Auricular  Confession  was  for  the  first  time 
authorized  and  at  the  same  time  rendered  obligatory  in 
the  Fourth  Lateran  Council,  held  in  the  year  121 5.  This 
was  a  distinctive  Roman  Catholic  Council.  About  the 
same  time  the  form  of  absolution,  "I  absolve  thee,  etc.," 
was  introduced  in  the  Church.  So  doctrines,  connected 
with  the  Confessional,  are  to  be  considered  Mediaeval  and 
Roman  and  not  Catholic,  in  the  credal  sense  of  that  term. 

Moreover,  private  auricular  confession,  except  in  case 
of  emergency  for  a  troubled  conscience,  and  the  form  of 
absolution,  "I  absolve  thee,  etc.,"  with  the  doctrine  and 
practice  of  penance,  have  been  definitely  repudiated  by  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and  may  not  be  taught  or 
practiced  with  authority  by  any  priest  of  the  Church. 
These  things  are  tolerated  and  practiced  by  some  because 

[10] 


they  believe  them  to  be  the  practice  of  the  Church  from 
the  first,  but  when  we  go  back  far  enough  and  examine 
the  records  and  manuals  of  the  early  Church,  we  find  the 
confession  public,  and  the  absolution  precatory,  as  in  the 
Liturgy  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  today. 

I  dwell  upon  this  matter  at  some  length,  because, 
though  it  may  seem  a  matter  of  little  import  to  some,  yet 
when  the  history  of  the  private  confessional  is  studied,  we 
find  so  much  of  evil  resulting  therefrom  with  so  little  good 
to  counteract  the  evil,  that  the  average  man  rebels.  The 
Church  of  England  protested,  bearing  witness  to  the  truth 
of  the  Catholic  faith  of  the  first  centuries. 

The  Church  of  England  and  the  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America  continue  to  protest,  to  bear  witness, 
against  these  Mediaeval  practices.  I  give  two  extracts 
here,  one  from  the  title  page  of  "The  History  of  the  Con- 
fessional," by  Bishop  Hopkins,  which  book  I  commend  to 
all  who  wish  to  go  into  a  thorough  study  of  the  subject, 
and  the  other  from  Hume,  the  historian.  Hume,  per- 
haps, may  not  be  the  highest  authority  as  to  facts  of  his- 
tory, yet  when  making  an  estimate  of  tendencies  of  the 
times,  no  one  can  be  considered  more  trustworthy: 

"At  what  doth  the  doctrine  concerning  Auricular 
Confession  aim,  but  that  thereby  the  priests  may  have  a 
mighty  awe  on  the  conscience  of  all  people,  may  dive  into 
their  secrets,  may  manage  their  lives  as  they  please? 

"And  what  doth  a  like  necessary  particular  absolution 
intend,  but  to  get  the  priest  in  a  lofty  state  of  authority 
above  the  people,  as  a  judge  of  each  man's  condition  and 

[11] 


dispenser  of  his  salvation?" — Barrow,  Treatise  on  the 
Pope's  Supremacy." 

Hume  speaks  of  Auricular  Confession  as  "One  of  the 
most  powerful  engines  that  ever  was  contrived  for  de- 
grading the  laity,  and  giving  their  spiritual  guides  an  en- 
tire ascendant  over  them.  And  it  may  justly  be  said,  that, 
though  the  priest's  absolution,  which  attends  confession, 
serves  somewhat  to  ease  weak  minds  from  immediate 
agonies  of  superstitious  terror,  it  operates  only  by  enforc- 
ing superstition  itself,  and  thereby  preparing  the  mind  for 
a  more  violent  relapse  into  the  same  disorders." — Hume, 
History  of  England,  Vol.  III.,  p.  341. 

It  is  needless  for  me  to  go  into  particulars  as  to  the 
other  two  doctrines  and  practices  to  which  I  referred, 
viz. :  Perpetual  Reservation  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
and  Invocation  of  Saints.  Both  of  these  are  unauthorized 
by  our  Church,  and  are  not  Catholic,  but  Mediaeval  prac- 
tices and  are  connected  with  evil  and  corrupt  tendencies. 
Because  of  such  tendencies  and  practices  the  Church  of 
England  made  definite  and  decided  protest. 

Do  not,  I  beg  of  you,  allow  yourselves  to  be  wedded 
to  Roman  and  Mediaeval  practices,  thinking  they  are 
Catholic.  Do  not  allow  words  to  fret  and  worry  you  be- 
cause they  are  not  properly  used  or  correctly  defined.  The 
Protestant  is  or  should  be  Protestant  because  he  wishes 
to  contend  for  and  bear  witness  to  the  Catholic  faith,  as 
contained  in  the  Bible  and  Creeds  and  upheld  by  the  first 
ages  of  the  Church. 

Be  zealous  workers  for  God  and  His  Church,  and  pray 
[12] 


earnestly,  that  peace  may  be  preached  to  them  that  are 
far  off  and  to  them  that  are  nigh,  and  that  God  will  hasten 
the  coming  of  His  Kingdom. 

The  great  work  of  the  Church  and  of  the  individual 
is  to  extend  the  Kingdom  of  God.  If  we  will  magnify 
this  duty,  the  little  things  of  words  and  their  meanings, 
and  the  misunderstandings  as  to  motives  will  inevitably 
fall  into  obscurity,  and  we  will  all  be  the  happier. 

The  great  majority  of  the  membership  of  the  Episco- 
pal Church  decline  to  identify  themselves  with  either  of 
the  extreme  parties,  because  they  feel  that  neither  party 
in  their  partisanship  represent  the  true  position  of  the 
Church. 

They  prefer  to  be  Catohlic,  but  not  Roman  or  Mediae- 
val. They  prefer  to  be  Protestant,  but  not  in  the  sense  of 
being  merely  anti-Roman.  They  take  this  position  not 
because  of  timidity  or  cowardice  nor  because  of  ignor- 
ance, but  rather  because  they  are  brave  to  hold  a  bold 
vision  of  the  whole  Church  united,  destined  to  hold  sway 
over  the  whole  world  with  a  teaching  that  is  Biblical, 
Apostolic  and  truly  Catholic. 


[13] 


